Second Trial Postponed For Man Convicted Of Murdering Phylicia Barnes

BALTIMORE (WJZ)–The second trial for the Baltimore man convicted of murdering Phylicia Barnes has been postponed.

The North Carolina honors student disappeared three days after Christmas in 2010 while visiting her sister’s Baltimore apartment for the holidays.

An intense police search that garnered national media attention ended four months after Barnes’ disappearance when her naked body was discovered floating in the Susquehanna River. Investigators quickly focused in on her sister’s ex-boyfriend–Michael Johnson–the last known person to see her alive.

Last February, a jury convicted then 29-year-old Johnson of second-degree murder.

Johnson’s second trial was scheduled to start Friday, but his defense team asked for a postponement and it was granted.